The field of the invention is bird deterrent devices.
Birds like to perch in various places including rooftops, ledges, and other areas on buildings and homes. When birds perch, they tend to be noisy and make an unsightly mess. Generally, a device with some type of spikes extending out from it will prevent birds from perching. However, many types of devices suffer from one or more of the following disadvantages: (1) they are expensive to manufacture, (2) they are expensive to install, (3) they are dangerous to install, and (4) birds get hurt when they land on them.
For example, barbed wire can be used along the ledges and rooftops to try to circumvent these problems. Although barbed wire is effective in preventing birds from perching, birds often get hurt because they land on the barbed wire and their legs and wings get tangled in it. Also, barbed wire is difficult to install and secure because it does not effectively withstand wind and other harsh elements. Furthermore, some people do not like the appearance of barbed wire.
Another type of device is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 2,298,194 to Caldwell (Nov. 17, 1938). In this device, wire shanks that form a rounded portion are welded at the lower ends to each of two longitudinal wires. The device cleats have spaced bayonet slots for receiving the shanks and apertures for fastening the cleats to a surface. However, this device tends to be difficult and expensive to assemble because the shanks must be individually placed into each bayonet slot.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,306,080 to Peles (Jan. 7, 1942) teaches a strip of sheet metal with spaced triangular cut outs, so that when the sheet metal is bent and the triangular portions are cut out, the triangular portions form spikes. Although this device is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, it is tedious and dangerous to install because the sheet metal may have sharp edges.
Some bird deterrent devices contain a base that contains channels that extend in varying angles through the base support (Negre). The spikes are then inserted in the directing channels, so that each spike extends away from the base support in a different angle. Manufacturing this type of bird deterrent device is simple because it involves only two steps: (1) manufacturing a base support with directing channels extending in several directions; and (2) inserting the spikes into those directing channels.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,552 to Negre (Mar. 28, 1995) teaches a device that has spikes attached to a base support. The spikes are attached by flattening a portion of a cylindrically shaped spike, and pushing them through round canals in the base so that the flattened portion of the spikes becomes lodged in the base support. However, prolonged use or extreme weather conditions cause the flattened portion of the spikes to become loose and spin around inside the canals, making them much less effective.
Thus, there is still a need for an improved bird deterrent device that adequately circumvents these problems, while remaining simple and low cost.
The present invention comprises a bird deterrent device generally having a base containing directing channels, and a plurality of spikes extending from the directing channels.
In preferred embodiments, each of the plurality of spikes is substantially cylindrical and has a top end and a bottom end. Also, each spike contains a portion that is disposed in the directing channels with a portion of each spike extending partially through the top of the base. Additionally, the top ends of the spikes are oriented at least 5 degrees out of parallel with respect to each other. Furthermore, at least one spike has a bend that forms an angle of at least 5 degrees off normal, at or above the top of the base.
The bend is typically located at or above the base. The bend forms an angle that is at least 5 degrees off normal. It is preferred that the bend forms an angle that is at least 10 degrees off normal, and even more preferred that the angle formed is at least 15 degrees normal.
The base typically has a top and a bottom, a plurality of directing channels that each receives a portion of a spike, and one or more tip-containing channels that each receives a bottom end of a spike. Upon insertion, the spikes are typically parallel with respect to each other, and then at least one spike is bent above the base to form a useful configuration. The bottom ends of the spikes may also be bent, and may be inserted into the directing channels. The spikes are also fixed to the base. To ease manufacturing, it is preferred that the directing channels are normal to the top or bottom of the base. It is further preferred that the horizontal cross-sectional area of the directing channel is no more than 10% larger than the corresponding cross-sectional areas of the spikes.
At least one spike has a second bend that forms an angle of less than 180 degrees within 2 cm of the bottom end of the spike. More preferably, the second bend forms an angle of less than 90 degrees within 1 cm of the bottom end of the spike.
In a preferred aspect of the invention, the bird deterrent device has a base having a top and a bottom, and a plurality of spikes having a top end and a bottom end, wherein the top ends of the spikes extend from the top of the base, a portion of each spike passes through the top of the base, the top ends of the spikes are oriented at least 5 degrees out of parallel with respect to each other, at least one spike has a bend that forms an angle of 5 degrees off normal at the top of the base, and at least one spike contains a second bend that forms an angle of less than 90 degrees within 1 cm of the bottom end of the spike.
The present invention further comprises a method of fabricating a bird deterrent device by providing a base with a top and a bottom, inserting a portion of a spike into the base, extending a portion of the spike out of the top of the base, bending the spike to form an angle of at least 5 degrees within 20 cm of the top of the base, and fixing the spike to the base.
Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention.